COVAX Supplies 297,000 Doses of Pfizer Vaccine Arriving on 21st... "To Be Used for Vaccination of Those Aged 75 and Over"

Vaccine Introduction Status and Plans (As of May 21, Unit: Doses)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The government-wide vaccine procurement task force (led by Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol) announced on the 20th that 297,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines supplied through COVAX are scheduled to arrive around 1:30 a.m. on the 21st.

1,068,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, procured through individual contracts, were introduced on the 17th, and following 438,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines the previous day, the arrival of 297,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines via COVAX on the 21st will bring the total number of doses introduced this week to 1,803,000.

Including the 297,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines from COVAX, a total of 8.23 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been introduced so far, with an additional 10.09 million doses expected to be supplied in the first half of the year, supporting vaccinations for 13 million people during this period.

The Pfizer vaccines supplied through COVAX this time will be used for vaccinating seniors aged 75 and older, a program that has been underway since the 1st of last month.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency requested emergency use authorization for the COVAX Pfizer vaccines from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 18th under the "Special Act on the Promotion of Development and Emergency Supply of Medical Products for Public Health Crisis Response." Following a committee review in accordance with relevant laws, the Ministry approved the emergency use on the 20th.

Kwon Deok-cheol, head of the government-wide vaccine procurement task force, stated, "We will carry out customs clearance and transportation procedures as swiftly as possible to ensure that the COVAX Pfizer vaccines can be smoothly used for vaccinations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.